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Compiled and written by Kimberli Faulkner Hull
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© Kimberli Faulkner Hull

In 1901, at the age of 14, May Crawshaw (1887-1956) kept a diary while living with her family in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts.

The diary measures approximately 3″ X 6″ and the cover is quite fragile. The diary was purchased in an antique store in Brewster, Massachusetts in 2021.

May, who was born Mary Louisa, inscribed her name in the 1901 diary as “May L. Crawshaw.”¹ By 1906, when she graduated from Taunton High School, and in her early twenties while attending the Rhode Island State Normal School, she used the spelling “Maye L. Crawshaw,” which appears to have been the spelling she used for the remainder of her life.²

May was an avid reader – a list of the known books she read in 1901 has been compiled.³ Louisa May Alcott appears to have been one of her favorite authors; perhaps May’s use of the name May Louisa was influenced by this admiration.⁴

The Crawshaw Family

In 1901, May was living with her parents, Thomas and Maria Crawshaw, and her siblings, Stanley, Benjamin, and Alice Gilberta, who May called “Bertie,” in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts.⁵

May celebrated the 1901 New Year at her home at 262 Highland St., in Taunton however, the family moved in September of 1901 to 25 Maple Street, also in Taunton.⁶

May enjoyed skating, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.

Diary Pages and Transcription

1. Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Birth Records 1887, no. 45, Mary Louisa Crawshaw. Also, May L. Crawshaw 1901 Diary, (Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1901), inside cover and identification page.
   
2. THS Journal 1906 (Taunton, Massachusetts – Taunton High School Yearbook, 1906), p. 42, Class of 1906, Maye Crawshaw. Also, Rhode Island College, “Rhode Island Normal School Catalog, 1909” (Providence, Rhode, Island, 1909), p. 37, Maye Louise Crawshaw. Also, “Maye L. Crawshaw,” obituary, The Newton Graphic (Newton, Massachusetts, 29 Mar 1956, p. 4, col. 3.
   
3. Kimberli Faulkner Hull, author, “Books Mentioned in the May L. Crawshaw 1901 Diary,” Chasing Light Media, Cool Adventures (https://cooladventures.com/genealogy/books-may-l-crawshaw-1901-diary/ : posted 2021.
   
4. Ibid.
   
5. Kimberli Faulkner Hull, author, “People in the May L. Crawshaw 1901 Diary,” Chasing Light Media, Cool Adventures (https://cooladventures.com/genealogy/people-may-l-crawshaw-1901-diary/#family : posted 2021).
   
6. May L. Crawshaw 1901 Diary, (Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1901), inside cover; privately held by the Faulkner–Hull Collection, Massachusetts. Also, ibid, 1 January 1901 entry. Also, ibid, September entries.
   

Item Description and Acquisition

Item: May L. Crawshaw, Diary for 1901, diary (Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1901); privately held by the Faulkner–Hull Collection.
Item acquisition: Brewster, Massachusetts antique store, July 2021.
Relationship: None known.

Citing this page: Kimberli Faulkner Hull, transcriber and compiler, “May L. Crawshaw 1901 Diary,” Chasing Light Media, Cool Adventures ( https://cooladventures.com/genealogy/may-l-crawshaw-1901-diary/ : published 2021); May L. Crawshaw, Diary for 1901, diary (Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 1901); privately held by the Faulkner–Hull Collection.

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